Kasson-Mantorville’s December Students of the Month and recipients of the KoMet Koin were recognized at the December School Board meeting. Honoredin December were9th Grade, Kaimbre Ann Hansen; 10th Grade,Cassidy Dillion; 11th Grade, Lauren Godbout; 12th Grade, Charlie Converse. Pictured with members of the board and Supt. Ted Ihns are Cassidy Dillion, left, and Charlie Converse, right.
 
 

This may seem like a strange title for a column right after Christmas. The holidays are a time of celebration, lights and merriment. One of our holiday traditions has always been to drive around town in the evening and look at the wonderful display of lights.

Some well-known professional wrestlers came to the Kasson-Mantorville School for the K-M Wrestling Club fundraiser in 1979. Mad Dog Vachon, was a villain in the ring, but he also competed in the 1948 Olympics for Canada, while others had competed in amateur wrestling or on football teams. They were part of Verne Gagne’s AWA wrestling organization. Gagne was a two time NCAA champion wrestler for the University of Minnesota.

Wishing all our readers a very Happy New Year.
To start off on a positive note, it looks like the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign was a success. Dodge County Salvation Army Coordinator Tanya Young said that as of this past weekend, the Kettles had collected $34,044.38. That’s not necessarily the final total as they are still waiting for any additional checks to arrive before posting a final amount.

I’ve had some in-depth discussions lately with family and friends about immigration and ICE. Rosie and I have a pretty diverse family — we have cousins who are African American, Mexican, Chinese, and Japanese — then we have our Canadian, South American, and Australian relatives. We also have an amazing daughter-in-law who is Guatemalan. My Mom’s side came from Norway. Dad’s side came from Scotland.

I am back home in Rhode Island for the holidays and about halfway through my trip my grandmother came down from New Hampshire to visit.
She was born over eight decades ago, so she’s seen a lot in her lifetime, and I was reminded she’s seen a lot of technological advances.
When my sister and I, along with my cousins, were in college, she would send us $10 or $20 every so often.

Every season is good for reading, but winter stands out as the ideal time to curl up with a good book, said Heather Frederick, library director at the West Concord Public Library.
“After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, during the cold months inside here in the Midwest, there is just something cozy about curling up with a good book,” she said.

BAPTIST
Anchor of Hope Church203 E. Main St., Dodge CenterA Seventh Day BaptistCongregationanchorofhopesdb.com10 a.m. Saturday,Worship Service11:30 a.m. Sabbath Schooldodgecentersdb.org• 374-6755

With the holidays upon us I wanted to share a message about distracted driving. Here is some information we recently shared on our Department of Public Safety blog.
“It was supposed to be a routine trip for 20-year-old Megan Severson. On Oct. 17, 2019, Severson was driving from Preston in southeastern Minnesota to visit her boyfriend in North Dakota. But when she reached Highway 52 in St. Paul, everything changed in an instant.